DIYbanter - View Single Post

Trevor Jones

Christopher Tidy wrote:
wrote:

I'm hoping to build a small pipe organ this summer, and as well as a
rank of wooden pipes, I would like to make a set of small metal ones.
The largest would be 2', going down to a few inches. The trouble is
that most organ builders cast their own mixture of lead and tin for
pipe building, which I don't belive is comercially available. Can
anyone suggest another sheet metal that is:

Easily worked
Solders well with an iron
Isn't too hard to get hold of
Isn't going to break the bank

The distinctive "spotty metal" is, as you correctly state, an alloy of
lead and tin. The exact composition varies, but 50% lead to 50% tin is
not uncommon. Historically, organ builders have chosen to use an alloy
with a greater proportion of tin for their best quality work.

You might be able to make your own sheets of metal using some kind of
lead-tin solder, but I suspect this wouldn't be straightforward. I would
suggest you contact some professional organ builders, explain your
project, and see if they can help you.

An explanation of the history of spotty metal is given in the book
"Engineering Properties and Applications of Lead Alloys" by Sivaraman
Guruswamy.

Best wishes,

Chris

Saw a documentary show on the tube a few years back, that showed the
process of building organ pipes, starting with the raw metal, melted and
poured into a spreader to make sheets. Interesting stuff!

Looked like there was lots of room for trial and error methodology to
be put to use. :-)

Cheers
Trevor Jones